Snoop Dogg Making Reggae Album With Diplo

4/2/2012 2:06 PM ET

Snoop Dogg is joining forces with Diplo for a new reggae album, according to reports from MTV, which revealed that he and the rapper are hard at work on his new LP and that the new musical direction was sounding "awesome."

"Snoop Dogg is an icon, man; he's bigger than the music," Diplo said. "What we're doing is a reggae record. It's all reggae and he's singing and he's doing an awesome job and I never knew it, but he had his heart in every song."

Last week, Snoop said he would be "re-born" on his next album, saying that despite being 11 solo albums into his career, his fans have yet to see the real him, but he hopes that will change with his next record.

"This record gives me an opportunity to the world of the stadium," he said. "Those are the kind of songs that last 40, 50 years."